


The chances we take

by Amaniaclikenoiz



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Clack, Light Bondage, M/M, NSFW, Top Cloud, zakkura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaniaclikenoiz/pseuds/Amaniaclikenoiz
Summary: This is a super self indulgent ficlet about the people we know and love from OG as well as Zack, who is now alive (Thank you remake), celebrating their fresh start at the opening of Tifa's new bar.During the celebration, Cloud can barely take his focus off of Zack and when he sees others getting close to him, jealousy arises....
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	The chances we take

Cloud was still in a state of disbelief, even after all these weeks. They had come home after beating Sephiroth. After they saved the planet. After picking up Zack in Rocket Town. How either of these were possible, Cloud still had no idea. Each and every achievement they’ve made seemed unbelievable to him – if someone would have told him before starting their journey and even while they were on said journey at most times. Yeah, he wouldn’t have believed it.

The one thing that still shook him the most, even though he should have gotten used to it by now, was having met Zack again. He'd been working as a merc, just as he'd proposed back then, and his various jobs lead him to be stuck around Rocket Town for a while, since he couldn't show his face around Midgar anymore. Considering constant target on his back would have only put Aertih in danger, after all.

Aerith. Damn. Another thing Cloud still hadn't wrapped his head around, couldn't wrap his head around. It was just too awful. It had hit all of them really hard, but it felt like especially the two SOLDIERs should have been able to do something to prevent Sephiroth from having his way.

“You there?”, Tifa's voice startled Cloud slightly.

“Huh?” He'd been sitting at the bar of their new bar for a while, just lost in thought. 

“Come on, put on a happy face for today, yeah?”

“Why would I?” He wasn't feeling much of the relieve most of the others seemed to be enjoying after their return. He was still mulling over the things he could have done differently – things he could have changed. If he'd just been stronger, just a little more defiant when facing Sephiroth, maybe then he- 

“Why? Because! We're celebrating the opening of the new bar today!”, she said, while tucking back some of the lose hair that simply refused to fit into her otherwise beautifully fixed hairdo. “A fresh start.” 

“I know.” Letting out a sigh, Cloud straightened himself. “I'll try.”

___________________

Their friends, who'd been invited to arrive about an hour earlier than the grand opening was supposed to take place, slowly started arriving, and Cloud tried his best to not be gloomy. He understood why the others wanted to celebrate, why still being alive and being able to start fresh was both amazing and something to be happy about. But he couldn't help it. There still was this lingering feeling of surrealism, which didn't allow him to unwind. He was still constantly vigilant, almost suspecting some ShinRa suit or another to burst in and try and take away everything they'd worked for so hard.

Which was ridiculous. ShinRa was in shambles. There was no more threat. 

Cloud pulled on his suit's collar, tried to adjust his tie. He'd promised Tifa to dress up appropriately, but this was ridiculous. How did Turks ever manage to fight in suits? They were so restrictive and awkward. 

“Looking good there, SOLDIER boy!” Jessie exclaimed as she came running over. Well, at least the suit did what it was supposed to then. 

“Thanks.”

They chatted for a while and Cloud had to admit that even though he still wished she had a better concept of personal space, he'd missed her. Just a bit. Maybe. 

As the rest of the crew was arriving, the mood within the bar instantly changed. People were hugging one another, laughing, and toasting all around Cloud. The toast to Aerith and her heroic act was the one that hurt the most, but it also felt the most honest. Yes, she would be dearly missed. No, they couldn't have done it without her, and yes, she truly had been a special lady. Of course he'd participated in most of the other toasts as well and greeted all his friends, but he still felt out of place. 

He was surrounded by the people who meant the most to him, and yet it was completely odd. He couldn't stop worrying that this was just a temporary state of being and that whatever was to follow was just going to be that much worse than he'd expect. 

“Hey there” Zack came over to him with a bright smile on his face. “Quite a party you guys organized.”

“Yeah, and there's more people coming.” He sipped his drink. “At least we hope they are, so they will come back later as well.”

Zack looked around. “I'm sure they will,” he said, “this place looks lovely, Tifa really has an eye for these things.”

“Sure does.” Finally, Cloud felt a smile forming on his face. There were only a couple of people who talking to felt easy with. Zack, of course, was one of them. 

Sadly, between getting over the fact that he'd still been alive, running from ShinRa, fighting Sephiroth, and getting his mind back together, they hadn't had many chances to just talk before. Even now that things had calmed down, Cloud had been busy helping Tifa get set up, looking out for Marlene while Barret was out networking and generally getting settled. Things had been hectic and the last few weeks had seemingly just flown by. 

After a couple of minutes, their chat got cut short by Cid, who called for everyone to set up some more decorations. It didn't matter that Tifa tried to stop them, as Cid, Yuffie, Jessie, Wedge and Zack were all energetically preparing balloons, garlands and confetti. There was no saving this. 

Just in time, they finished decorating and the first customers came in, followed by what seemed like waves of them. In the end, the bar was filled and brimming with life. It was a little overwhelming but Cloud was glad that the new Seventh Heaven started out strong. Tifa deserved this, she'd put so much work into preparing the bar, pouring her heart into it. Seeing her beaming smile made a lot of the hardships well worth it. 

Tifa wasn't the only one who was overflowing with happiness, though. Jessie was running around chatting up basically everyone, always on the hunt for someone to introduce to that pizza she still owed him. Cid had found a bunch of people to draw into playing Poker with him. Barret, meanwhile, was dancing with Marlene a little ways away from the crowd, joined a bit later by Yuffie, who joyfully exchanged dance moves with the two of them. It was a sight to behold indeed. Zack had seemingly acquired his own fan club he was entertaining with what seemed to be battlefield stories and jokes about once famous SOLDIERs he, of course, had all kinds of stories about. 

Vincent had visited them earlier today, refusing to join the actual party. Which wasn't suprising, and Cloud really couldn't imagine him among all these craziness. Speaking of which, Wedge, not wanting to accept his loss of the top stop on the leader board, was absolutely insisting on having a rematch in darts. 

“We'll start a new leader board now! Let's see if you can beat me again or if it was beginner's luck, bro!” Cloud had given up on making him stop calling him bro. It was a lost battle. Sadly.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to just sit on the sidelines and observe everyone while leisurely sipping his drink all night anyways, Cloud gave in, forcefully drawing his eyes away from Zack. He was immediately overwhelmed by Wedge's joy. 

“Really?! Oh thank you, bro!! This will be an epic battle of wits and unerringness!! Woo!” Wedge's voice could be heard all throughout the bar and probably even in the living quarters in the back.

“Calm down, it's not a big deal.” Cloud was trying to get out of the incoming hug but failed miserably. Just endure, after all, he's earned it. 

Before they started, they were joined by Biggs, who just beat Cid in the last game of Poker and was swiftly banned from the table. Figures... Surprisingly, both Biggs and Wedge put up a good fight leading Cloud to suffer several defeats before finally besting both of them on the third try.

After a few drinks and being surrounded by so many of his friends being cheery, Cloud actually felt a lightness creep onto him. Maybe, just maybe, we can make this last, he thought as he tried not to look too enthusiastic about the prospect of high fiving his opponents and dodging another incoming hug. He had to teach Wedge some boundaries, after all. But this, admittedly, was really fun. 

Just then, Tifa appeared out of the crowd, running up to Cloud. “Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys.” she was carrying a full tray and seemed fairly stressed, “but can I borrow Cloud? I really don't have enough hands to handle all these people on my own.”

Both the other players offered their help as well but Tifa assured them that they were guests and that they should just enjoy themselves. For that, they promised to drink an extra beer in Cloud’s stead. Those guys, seriously…

Within no time, Cloud found himself swamped with work. The party was buzzing and everyone was consuming what seemed like their weight in drinks and snacks. Granted, this was a good thing for the opening of the bar, but feeling rather restricted in his movements by the suit and being ordered around… basically made up Cloud’s least favorite aspects of the evening, especially when combined.

However, it didn’t take long for Cloud to get a hang of what he was doing and develop a routine which allowed him to somewhat get back to keeping an eye on people. 

Okay, mostly on Zack. He told himself he was just watching for a chance to have a chat, to do some catching up. But this stinging feeling inside his chest called him a liar. It became ever louder and more intense while he watched the people and especially girls around his old friend carelessly touching him all the time, clinging onto his arm for moments, or even getting away with touching his legs.

Overly consumed by his musings, Cloud turned around and bumped into a tall guy, accidently dumping the remainder of what was in the dirty glasses he had been carrying all over the customer. Oh boy. Luckily, his accidental vitim was too drunk and utterly too much into the party to be mad. He just stammered some form of 'it's ok' and went along his merry way. 

Cleaning up the spilled beverages from the floor gave Cloud another chance to glance over at Zack. By now, Jessie had joined the small group of listeners and was telling stories of her own, enticing the crowd just as much, if not a little more than Zack. It was actually kind of adorable but Cloud still couldn't shake the bitter taste it left him with.

This was ridiculous. He had no reason or right to feel this way. Apart from that one date they had gone on way back when, he had never shown Zack any signs of interest and until now they hadn’t had any time to even think about these things. 

As Cloud made his way back to the bar, handing Tifa the dirty glasses, he tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

“What happened?” Tifa asked, pointing to a somewhat large wet stain on Cloud's suit.

“Oh.”, he hadn't even noticed anything had spilled on him as well, ”I just bumped into someone on my way here. It's okay, he was too busy partying to complain.”

She gave him a bright smile, “figures, everyone is pretty far gone at this point.” Tifa started cleaning the glasses. “Thank you for all your help, Cloud. I couldn't have done all this alone.”

“Sure.”

Cloud seized the opportunity and decided to relax for a minute and just casually talk to Tifa, until a sudden wave of shouts came from behind him.

Apparently the group around Zack had at some point been joined by Biggs and Wedge as well and they were playing some sort of drinking game. 

“You should join them, take a break.”, said Tifa.

“Huh? Nah, I'm good. Can't leave you alone with all this work now, can I?”

She playfully shoved Cloud away. “Yes, yes you can. Go on now, I'll call you if I get swamped again.”

**

Zack was thoroughly enjoying the evening. It felt good to finally be able to relax around the people he'd been traveling around with before. Though he, along with Cid, had been one of the last people to join the team, they'd all become good friends in what seemed like no time.

Of course he'd also been overjoyed to meet Cloud – Again, after he'd disappeared on him before. Of course there'd been the issue of his memories, but those two hurdles hadn't been unsolveable and now, after everything, they finally had all the time in the world to get back to where they left off. 

Speaking of the spiky haired blond, it seemed like he was finally coming over to join their group. Zack wanted to wave at him and welcome him in but his train of thought as well as his line of sight were rudely interrupted by Jessie, who suddenly decided to sit down right on his lap. 

“Uhm, hello?”, Zack said equal parts amused and confused.

“Hi! Sorry, Wedge is taking up all the space on that bench” she looked straight at the accused, “on purpose!”

“Am not!!”, Wedge protested.

These guys sometimes, honestly. Zack was not surprised that Cloud had taken a liking to them. They were really fun and warm-hearted people. Even if some of them had a limited concept of boundaries and personal space, but that didn't bother him too much anyways. 

“Zack”, Cloud finally stood right in front of him, “got a minute?”

The look on his friend's face assured him that 'no' was definitely not an answer. “Sure.”

Zack carefully pushed Jessie off his lap, offering her his seat instead, which she accepted with only mild disappointment. 

“Come on.” Cloud urged him.

Something important had to be happening if Cloud was urging him like that. Zack just hoped no one got hurt or in trouble. Everything seemed peaceful, at least to him, but just to make sure, he tried to asses the events in the room nonetheless. Dancing, talking, laughter and general cheerfulness was all he could detect though. 

Suddenly, he felt a tuck on his arm and realized that Cloud had taken his hand to guide him along. Man, considering the stern look on his face, they probably were on their way to beat up some Turks or runaway monsters. 

As he looked up from the hand tightly holding onto his, he got a good look at the young man in front of him. Even underneath the suit, which, frankly, was a bit too tight for Cloud, he could tell how muscly he had become. Sure, his frame was still quite small but compared to what he had looked like a few years ago, he clearly built up some muscle and strength. 

Cloud's strong pull had made them walk at a brisk pace, and as quickly as the mass of people in the bar allowed and the finally reached the section in the back, where the private rooms were located. The quiet and peacefulness that greeted them in the dark surprised Zack. Just what was going on?

“Cloud, what's-”

His words were cut short when he was thrown against the wall separating two of the rooms, the second they were out of sight. 

Before Zack could process what was going on, Cloud's hand was firmly on his tie, pulling him in, until his own lips were met by Cloud's. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. As soon as the first wave of surprise had swept over him, he grasped onto Cloud's tiny waist and drew him close, giving into the sensation of Cloud kiss.

Slowly, Cloud drew back, leaving only the smallest of space between their faces. “Zack”

Even though it was just a single word, it was dripping with yearning, want and a clear request. “You keep surprising, me, Cloud.”

“That bad?”, Cloud asked, looking up at him as he ran his hands up and down the side of Zack's body. 

“Not at all. It's just unlike you to take the lead like this.”

“As far as you know, you mean.” Cloud slowly moved his head and feeling his breath softly caressing the sensitive skin on his neck drove Zack insane. 

“Oh?”, Zack let out a small laugh. Even when acting like this, Cloud managed to be unfairly adorable somehow. 

The feeling of Cloud‘s lips and his tongue forcefully caressing the slop his neck forced a breathless moan out of Zack. There was very little holding him back from just ripping both of their clothes off right where they were standing and taking Cloud right then and there.

Dipping his hands lower, he put them them on Cloud’s firm behind, gripping his cheeks while pulling him even closer and pressing them against each other. Now that there was no more space between the two of them, he could feel that Cloud clearly was just as much in need of him, as Zack was of him. 

Moving his lips up to his ear, Cloud whispered “I want you”, while digging his nails into Zack's sides, “right now.”

“Fuck.”He didn't have to ask twice.

Zack let Cloud draw him along into one of the rooms adjacent to the wall they had been leaning against, presumably his own. He reconnected their lips, hungrily pushing back against the smaller man's lips as they stumbled through the room. 

To his continued surprise, Cloud would not draw back or let him take the lead at all, as evidenced by the speed with which Zack ended up on his back, with his shirt torn open and pinned down by Cloud. Yeah, Cloud had definitely changed since they'd last done this. 

For just a second he considered challenging Cloud' newfound dominance, but in the end, he really didn't mind letting him take over, so he relaxed into the mattress. As Cloud swept over him like a storm, undoing the rest of his suit and shirt, as well as his pushing his pants out of the way, Zack was pretty sure he'd missed his chance to assume control either way. Letting his eyes wander, a dirty grin crossed his face and he stopped Cloud in his tracks when the younger man was moving his deft fingers towards the only piece of clothing left on Zack's body – his boxers. After all, he was just as hungry for Cloud as the blond was for him.

“Aren't you forgetting something?” Zack teased.

Cloud glared at him, as he'd clearly just rudely interrupted his plans. “No, what?”

“Well, I'm already down to my boxers,” Zack tucked on Cloud's ruffled up shirt.“ but I want to see you too, you know?”

Blinking at Zack and blushing adorably, Cloud nodded. “Right.”

Finally slowing down enough for him to unbutton the blond’s shirt, Zack made quick work of the offending item. As expected, however, Cloud didn't intend to waste any time and threw it to the ground as quickly as possible and leaned back in. 

Amused, Zack indulged him for a while, until he decided to 'bother' him again.

“Cloud”, he purred.

“What?” 

Zack said nothing and just pointedly fumbled with the button of the other's pants, grinning at him. Sighing loudly to make sure Zack knew how annoyed Cloud was at his repeated interruptions, he rolled away and stood up to undo his pants, visibly annoyed at their mere existence. 

Zack sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed until, kneeling there, he could finally put his hands on Cloud's small but defined waist. Without his Clothes, he finally had a full vision of his friend's body. Damn. Cloud had really worked himself into a more than sightly man. 

He drew the younger man in closer, placing a kiss just underneath his belly button, which prompted a hand in his hair and a muffled sound of pleasure. Zack smiled against Cloud's firm muscles as he let his lips and hands wander further down. 

When he reached the edge of Cloud's underwear, he glanced up at Cloud, who was vtrying very hard to stay stern and not to show how flustered he was. His red cheeks betrayed him though.

“Let's take these off too, yeah?”, he suggested as he let his hands slip into their waist band of them already.

Cloud nodded and Zack slowly shuffled them down, revealing Cloud's fully erect member. He was bigger than Zack remembered. That, however, didn't stop Zack from enjoying himself as he teasingly kissed the tip of it, drawing a quiver out of Cloud. 

He knew that by now he had thriwn off the younger man's plans, but he didn't care. Firmly planting more kisses on the whole length of Cloud's penis, he could feel Cloud trembling under his fingers while trying to muffle sweet little whines.

Up until now, Cloud had merely been running his finger through Zack’s hair but as he attempted to fully take Cloud into his mouth, Cloud tightened his grip and pulled his head back, moving his hand to lift up Zack's chin instead.

“Don't! If you do that I'll...”, he cleared his throat. “Not yet.”

Cloud leaned down and pulled Zack into a hard kiss before pushing him onto his back once again. As if to stop him from interfering again, Cloud made sure to not give Zack time to think anymore by distracting him with sweet, deep kisses that made warmth rise within Zack's body, while pushing him back into the mattress. 

“Put your hands up”, he demanded.

Zack decided to cooperate and raised his arms over his head. Almost immediately, a pair of strong hands wrapped around his wrists, effectively holding them in place, while Cloud continued to drive him out of his mind by kissing him thoroughly. Zack had already forgotten about it, Cloud clearly remembered his previously discarded tie that was laying on the bed, waiting for a new use. Grabbing it quickly, he proceeded to tie up Zack's wrists. 

Still taken by surprise by this new side of Cloud, Zack melted into every one of the younger man's touches. who was now tracing over his chest. Being helplessly at the mercy of Cloud, Zack couldn’t help but moan into the kiss when Cloud’s fingers began to softly trace over his chest. Heat rose within him again, making him feel like he could burst right then and there. Taking a few deep breaths, Zack struggled to control himself, knowing that Cloud had other things in mind for them.

Seemingly satisfied with Zack's compliance, Cloud slowly made his way downwards, planting kisses all over Zack's already sensitive chest, before stopping to gently suck on one of Zack's nipples. Zack’s breath caught in his chest before it sped up again and he strained against the improvised confines of his tie. He really wanted to touch the blond as well, desperate to signal him how impatient he was. 

When the other man ignored his attempts at signaling within his constrains he hissed “You'll drive me insane”, hoping to spur the other on.

To his relief, Cloud either understood him, or became had become impatient himself. and moved one of his hands down towards where Zack wanted him. Swiftly, he removed the last piece of clothing that was in his way. Then, slowly and while carefully watching Zack's reactions, Cloud began to caress Zack's hard member before moving down even further to play with his balls for a few seconds. Finally picking up Zack's left leg, the younger man draped it over his shoulder so he had better access. 

Cloud gently circled Zack’s entrance before quickly, but sufficiently wetting his fingers with his spit before starting to carefully push his finger inside Zack. His mako-blue eyes drowned by desire were fixed on Zack's face, to pick up any reaction that spoke of discomfort or pain. It had been so long since he'd done anything like this, so the feeling was both odd and overwhelming, though not mostly unpleasant. Cloud seemed to have noticed his slight discomfort since he moved his free hand up to Zack’s stomach, carefully tracing little symbols into the flesh there so as to take Zack’s mind off the intrusive feeling. Slowly, Zack was able to relax and soon any feeling of discomfort had been replaced by thrills of pleasure running through his whole body whenever Cloud’s finger brushed against his prostate.

“Oh wait.” Cloud muttered, almost too quiet to be heard.” Don't go anywhere”, he said with a cocky smile before pressing a quick kiss on the leg still placed on his shoulder. Carefully he removed his finger from inside Zack before letting down his leg to lean over to his night stand. How was he still being so adorable? Unfair, simply unfair. When Cloud finally picked Zack's leg back up, he was relieved to see that Cloud was holding a small bottle of lube. Thank the Gods. 

Without further interruptions, Cloud was able to properly prepare Zack, carefully stretching him out while visibly enjoying watching the older man slowly losing his last remaining bit of self-control and becoming undone by his actions. When his sighs and whimpers grew into moans, feeling the growing need for more of Cloud inside of him, Zack's patience finally ran out. 

“Cloud”, damn his voice was hoarse,”please.” He didn't have the breath or strenght for much more than that.

Heading his pleas, Cloud finally pulled out his fingers and slicked himself up, before sitting up on his knees and pulling Zack closer, holding him without much effort. While Zack was still marveling at his strength, Cloud slowly started to push his cock into him, once again leaving him no time to think.

“Fuck” Zack drew in a sharp breath. He clearly wasn't going to last long like this. 

While Cloud's glowingly blue eyes were firmly fixed on Zack, taking in his every reaction, he carefully pushed in further, grunting. Feeling the younger man's cock pulse inside him, Zack knew they were both reaching the limits of their patience. Though seeing him like this was still strange and unfamiliar, Zack couldn’t help but be both turned on by and proud of the man his friend had become. Strong, determined, brave. Not just on the battlefield anymore.

“Ready?”, Cloud's voice was raspy, much deeper than his usual voice.

Zack smiled up at him, nodding, since he was pretty sure that his voice would no longer obey him.

Drawing back a bit before starting to slowly push into him, Cloud soon found a rhythm that drove both of them insane. Surely, he had intended to be careful but soon his thrusts became stronger, deeper and the grip he had on his hip became like iron. Zack let his head fall back, let himself be swept away by the rush of pleasure that overcame him, his breaths labored and heavy.

As soon as Cloud moved his hand from Zack's hip to his erection, he knew there was no more holding back. A quiver ran through his body as Cloud kept forcefully pushing into him and started firmly stroking along his full length.

He tried to hold on as long as he could but when Cloud squeezed his tip, just as he was hitting that one spot inside of him again that made him see stars, Zack's back arched off the mattress and he let out a loud moan as he came all over Cloud's hands and his stomach. 

While Zack was catching his breath, Cloud slowed down. ”Zack, I'm-”

“It's alright”, Zack muttered, beaming at Cloud. As if after all this he'd really mind. 

Cloud resumed and picked the pace back up, gasping desperately, before he too reached his climax. The loud moan he let out was probably the most erotic thing Zack had ever heard in his life, especially considering how controlled the younger man's voice was usually at any other given time. 

He would probably mentally slap himself later, when he had to clean himself become aware of just how sore he was from being overly stimulated, but right now he couldn't care less. All that mattered was that they both finally enjoyed themselves tonight. More than that they had found back to another, sharing that enjoyment together.

After catching his breath, Cloud gently pulled himself out and slowly let down the other's leg onto the matress, before pulling himself up to give Zack a tender kiss. Convinced that he was finally allowed to use his hands again, Zack wrapped his still tied up arms around Cloud, caressing his head. 

“That was wonderful”, he hummed against Cloud's lips.

The other man smiled down on him. “Yeah, it was.”

“Mind freeing me now, though?”

Cloud smiled against his lips, stealing a few more kisses before complying with his wish. Then, as though he too didn’t want to break their little bubble by getting up and cleaning both of them, Cloud pulled one of the discarded blankets over them, wrapping it around both of them before snuggling back up to Zack. A few minutes of pure bliss passed, before Zack dreadingly broke the silence.

“We'll have to get back to the others eventually, don't we.”

“I know.” 

Neither of them moved.

“Eventually.” 

…

**Author's Note:**

> Many, many thanks and a shout out to annikawrites for helping me out with the beta reading, she really helped me out polishing this whole thing into what it is now ♥


End file.
